Lions have lots of incentive to beat Packers

Nov. 6, 2013

The Detroit Lions will come to Lambeau Field on Sunday with extra motivation to win, and it has nothing to do with their 20-year victory drought in Wisconsin or their intense NFC North rivalry with the Packers.
Simply put, the Lions desperately want to secure the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs, which means they won’t have to travel to New Orleans to play the Saints in the wild-card round of the post-season on the weekend of Jan. 7-8.
A victory over the Packers will guarantee that the Lions travel to play the NFC East champion in the first round of the playoffs, which will be either the Dallas Cowboys or New York Giants. That’s a better matchup for the Lions than having to travel to New Orleans, where the Saints are virtually unbeatable at the Superdome.
The only way the Saints could overtake San Francisco and earn the No. 2 seed and a first-round playoff bye is if the lowly St. Louis Rams (2-13) knock off the 49ers (12-3) on Sunday.
The No. 6 seed will travel to play the No. 3 seed in the first round of the NFC playoffs. Right now, that would be Atlanta going to New Orleans, where the Falcons got pasted on Monday night.
The only way the Falcons can avoid a rematch with the Saints in the playoffs is by beating Carolina in the regular-season finale and having the Packers defeat the Lions.
The No. 1 seeded Packers have locked up their playoff position and aren’t expected to play all of their starters for the entire game against the Lions.
NFC PLAYOFF SEEDS, with final regular-season opponent in parenthesis:
1. PACKERS 14-1 (vs. Lions).
2. 49ERS 12-3 (at Rams).
3. SAINTS 12-3 (vs. Panthers).
4. GIANTS 8-7 (vs. Cowboys).
5. LIONS 10-5 (at Packers).
6. FALCONS 9-5 (vs. Bucs).
7. COWBOYS 8-7 (at Giants).